The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1887-01-21
Friday. Jan. 81, 1887.
Teachers Associations.

The teachers of the 9th 9TH and Sth dist
riots have kept up an Association for
number of years which meets at Port De
post monthly. This Association we be-
lieve is the only one liz the county, and
doubtless owes, largely. its long continued
prosperity to the president of the School
Board, Mr.. F. S. Everist, who is an en-
thusiastic educator and seems to have in
fused much of his enthusiasm into this AS
ISOLATION.
We were kindly furnished report Of
the meeting by the Secretary, Mr.. Watts,
but not in time for our issue of last week.
We publish in another column summary
of the remarks Of Rev. Mr.. Conway and
we propose making few free comments on
the position that gentleman takes with re
gard to the Latin language as a course in
our public schools.
The last meeting of the Association &p-
pears to have been cred letter. day.
Prof. Newell of Baltimore and Rev. James
Conway, of Port Deposit Presbyterian
church, delivered addresses before the As
ISOLATION.
Rev, Mr.. Conway faced toward ancient
Rome and argued that Latin should be
taught in the public schools. How any
man living in the midst of this busy world
can settle down on such chimerical belief
has always been a mystery to us. When
the fact is patent that eight tenths of the
children for whose advantage public schools
were instituted, have scarcely time for ac-
curing even smattering of education in
their mother tongue. to think of using up
that time almost wholly in learning in a
crudr and lame manner the Latin language
is astonishing. Learned men who talk so
much surely do it for talk sake. In place
of adding to the already cumbersome sys-
tenn which is loaded down with studies, the
Latin MolocE, the great need of our public
school system is pruning down to the most
ordinary branches of education that are in
use among busy people every day, to aid
them along with their labors A few OF
tbe most used branches of education thor
oughly mastered would be of more benefit
to our working millions, than the most
critical education in Latin could possibly
be, if they knew nothing else. Mr.. Con-
way gives reasons for introducing Latin
into the public schools. We will name 2
reasons against it which will out weigh
them all. ~ Niue tenths OF the public
school pupils could not possibly acquire a
knowledge of Latin, and ~ if they by any
possibility could under their cir
cumstances in life master the
language, they could make no adj
vantageous use of it. Thorough Latin
scholars and as thorough English scholars
have transferred every thought worth liv-
ing into English, rendering its true mean
Ing and shades of meaning thousand times
more comprehensive, than laundering
Latin taught pupil of public school could
extract from the Latin text.
We have no patience with such wholly
impracticable advice as this of Mr.. Con-
ways to our public schools.
Let school men turn their attention tc
making our language as perfect, and even
more perfect than the Latin language. Oul
spelling is execrable, our pronunciation is
worse. We are constantly adding to the
language by introducing foreign words, en-
deavoring to retain the foreign spelling and
foreign accent. In place of bending their
energies to make our language harmonious
and give it individuality, these i'm
provements make of it confusion of tong
ues and a gutteral inharmonious dialect,
while our philologists sigh for the beautl-
full dead Latin tongue. Suppose the Ro-
mans had pursued the same course which
our school men have followed and are still
following, what kind ofjargon would the
Language have been?
The past has died to make it possible
hat the present might live. Our self ap-